Salt in tank

flutterbye75

flutterbye75

Friend, not Foe!!
Mar 17, 2005
130
0
0
49
BC, Canada
i was wondering if after every weekly 25% water change if you have to add more salt to the tank. Im still new at this. :confused:
 
u dont have to add salt unless you are treating a disease or you have a fish that needs a specific salinity for a freshwater fish like a moray eel and a few others besides that you will be okay
 
10 Gallon
---------
5 guppies
2 neon tetras
2 mollies

10 Gallon
---------
23 guppy fry (1 week old)
 
I was just given the advice that 1 teaspoon of salt every five gallons was good for the fish.
 
It can be, under certain conditions. The article Daveedka kindly linked to explains it. If your pH and GH are low, then it might be a decent idea, depending upon your buffering capacity. If you have hard, alkaline water (like me) then no salt is necessary for your livebearing fish and might actually be detrimental to your tetras.
 
flutterbye75 said:
I was just given the advice that 1 teaspoon of salt every five gallons was good for the fish.
Click to expand...

Im by far no where near an expert on fish care. But i do constantly keep freshwater salt in my tank. When i change water i just add alittle bit of salt. Since people say salt isnt needed it, a little amount of salt wont hurt anything. Just make sure not to add too much. Also remember, salt does not evaporate.
 
Since people say salt isnt needed it, a little amount of salt wont hurt anything. Just make sure not to add too much. Also remember, salt does not evaporate.
Click to expand...

NaCl, Known commonly as Salt.
Here is the myth that seems to perpetuate forever and ever. Freshwater fish that live in freshwater bodies do not need salt added to their water. It is harmful to them over the long term, it interferes with natural processes and eventually hurts the fish. It is not harmless. It is fairly slow to harm a fish, and may even comfort some fish short term, but not long term. Mollies are a hard water fish, not a brakish water fish. If you don't wish to breed them they will live in your tap water no problem, if you happen to have soft water and want your mollies to breed and they don't then harden the water a bit with calcium, magnesium and other minerals natural to hard water. Salt will simulate hard water by increasing the Total dissolved solids in the water, and mollies may respond to that. It is neither a good way nor a safe way to simulate hard water, and it certainly isn't as easy as adding some CaCl and some MgSo4 (epsom salts)

Hardening water and raising the TDS levels can be beneficial to some hard water fish. But usually isn't necessary for most.

Cichlid salts should not be confused with NaCl, cichlid additives are a mixture of minerals designed to harden the water to something similar to the rift lakes. The level of Na and CL in the rift lakes is far far below any level reccomended by the box of Freshwater aquarium salt you see on the shelf. Since the rift lakes are pretty much the standard for hardwater lakes in the world, and they contain very little NaCl, it stands to reason that NaCl is not needed for your freshwater fish.

It is true that all bodies of water contain some Na and CL, but we are talking about tiny amounts and nothing remotely close to the tablespoon per 5 gallons you see and hear about. And as far as that goes, the tap water you put in your tank most likely has some NaCl present, and probably enough to fill any need the fish have.

Aside from ICH treatment which takes more than 1 tablespoon per five gallons, and nitrite treatment which takes far less than 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons, there is no reason to add NaCl to a freshwater tank. you may not think your fish care, but eventually they will.

For ich you need 1-3 teaspoons per gallon, for nitrite it only takes about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon per gallon maybe less really. Additionally, the Cl is what combats nitrite poisoning, so you could easily use KCl which is commonly used as a plant fert, or even CaCl which is used to dose calcium. Then you could avoid the unneeded sodium levels added with salt.

Most LFS's read the package and then sell the product based on what the label says with little or no real knowledge of what really goes on in a tank.

This myth will probably last as long as Salt is here on earth, but my fish will not be harmed by it.
dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom